Incendia Abyssus Addo Vestri Nex
by mydoctortennant
Summary: Spoilery for 2x13. One word: GUINEVERE! Arthur/Gwen


**Title:** Incendia Abyssus Addo Vestri Nex  
**Author: mydoctortennant**  
**Pairing/s:** Arthur/Gwen  
**Rating:** 12a

**Warnings:** Spoilers for 2x13, speculation mainly.  
**Disclaimer:** Merlin, unfortunately, doesn't belong to me… maybe one day!  
**Dedication: jazzebelles **for her prompt 'blood'.  
**Summary:** "GUINEVEREEEEE!!!" =D  
**Notes:** This comes to you un-beta'd so if there are spelling mistakes or whatnot they are all my own, and if you want to point things out to me, go ahead XD Title means (loosely) 'the fire of hell being your death'. Nice huh?

Screams filmed the ears of the people of Camelot, flames licking at their legs, the heat making them sweat. Gwen was struggling to lower the buckets into the well faster enough to gather water to extinguish the fires. She had to try. She couldn't just sit back and wait for somebody to tell her what had happened. Arthur and Merlin were fighting, she had to help them.

She could hear Arthur shouting orders to his men, the screams of woman as the Dragon swooped lower towards the castle.

Arthur whipped around, he saw the monster before she did, heading straight for her, "Guinevere!" she turned her attention away from the well to see the Dragon descending down on her. She panicked, seeing Arthur running towards her. She looked up again, the fire light glinted off of the sharp teeth of the swooping Dragon. Too stunned to scream she couldn't even move until Arthur practically tackled her down onto the stone ground, just as the Dragon was about to launch it's attack on her.

"Sorry," he apologised immediately, pushing up on his arms, chest heaving, looming above her body.

"No," she said breathlessly, "don't apologise," it wasn't a time to cause an argument, but she couldn't help herself defying him. She'd come accustom to saying these small things to him, just to prove to him how far away from each other they were, but shouldn't be.

He looked up, the Dragon had moved on, if only for a second but it gave them a chance to take cover like the rest of the Knights had, "Come on," the Prince ordered, pushing himself to the balls of his fee, grabbing her hand and pulling her up with him. One eye on the skies, one on his route to the gate that allowed them access to some safety.

Gwen hitched up her skirt, running along side Arthur, his hand nestled in hers. She shouldn't feel these things in a moment of crisis but she couldn't help but relish in the fact that his hand really did seem to fit perfectly with hers. Maybe it was wistful thinking, and if his father saw them now he would only assume it was him acting the gentleman and helping his people to safety, but to the pair of them it was more than that, the feelings ran so much deeper.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she was forced to the floor by the claws of the Dragon colliding with her back. She cried out as she fell, Arthur falling beside her, an agonised cry sounded beside her as Arthur landed awkwardly on his arm. Gwen could feel the heat of blood trickling down her arm, but with a blood thirsty dragon flying above their heads, she didn't see fit to complain.

In sync, the pair of them looked up at the skies, it had moved on once again, flying above the town. Arthur pulled her to her feet again with his good arm, running in the direction of the wall, opening the gate quickly and forcing himself into the room behind.

"Did it get you?"

"Are you okay?"

"Did it get _you_?"

"Are _you_ okay?"

Arthur ignored her question in favour of ripping the arm of her dress off, ripping the material. He tied it tightly as close to her shoulder as he could, wincing as the movement caused a shooting pain to ricochet through his nerves.

She couldn't return his favour, his chain mail, though battered, hindered her ability to check what had happened. There was no visible blood seeping through the under shirt he wore, but it too was red and with fleeting light there was no easy way to tell.

"You're hurt," Gwen stated, eyeing up the area he thought was affected with no such luck.

"So are you," he replied stubbornly.

Shrill screams alerted them that they were not alone. Arthur turned to look over his shoulder seeing Sir Leon and a few other of his men run towards the scream. Leon momentarily looked between the Prince and the Handmaiden and back again, he didn't say anything, but ordered the men through the archway, back into the courtyard, "My lord."

"Stay here," Arthur ordered, gripping her shoulders. He looked her in the eyes, stern and, for once, lording it over her with his status Something he hadn't done in a long time.

"Arthur…"

"Please," his look begged with her now. She nodded.

"Be careful," he nodded back, one, singular, power-ridden nod. He moved his hands from her shoulders to cup her chin, the other on her waist. If this was the last time he was going to see her, he wasn't going to leave her with the memory of him crashing her to the floor. He pressed his lips to hers, in a single, sweet kiss, she kissed him back, and for the first time became aware that she was crying, "I'll see you later."

He ran out back into the Courtyard, following Sir Leon, "Sire?"

"Leon."

"You shall see her again."

"Yeah," he said, voice wavering. He wasn't so sure. The Dragon was doing all in its power to make sure nobody was left standing.

"Are you ready, sire?"

"Incendia abyssus addo vestri nex," they heard shouted across the courtyard. They looked, only one singular person standing in the middle.

"Merlin?" the whisper barely left Arthur's lips. The light that blasted from his servants hand made them duck as the Dragon's roar sounded above them.

"Incendia abyssus addo vestri nex!" the light brightened, and the powerful roar changed, ridden with pain. Suddenly the Knights found themselves launching their bodies away from the shadow being cast by the falling body of the beast.

Arthur cried out in pain again as he landed. The body of the Dragon lay before him, the body of his friend standing, looming, as much man of his size could over a creature so huge.

"Merlin?"

The young man's gaze shot towards him, his victorious look vanishing immediately, Arthur could see him gulp.

So many times. So many times he had dismissed the power his friend heralded. He'd laughed it off. The idea of it far too ludicrous to even contemplate.

Merlin a sorcerer.

Arthur thought his life hard enough being in love with a servant, now with his friend being a sorcerer too, this was going to take too much explaining for his father ever to understand, but there was no way he could hide it all.

The Dragon's unmoving body remained at the centre of the fires. The Knights and Merlin all looking at it, the war was won.


End file.
